Machine for stringing tobacco-leaves.



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A. W. OLDS.

MACHINE FOR'STRINGING TOBAGGO LEAVES.

APPLICATION FILED I'BB.3, 1910.

Patented Jan. 3, 1911.

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yMZZ XM A. W. ULDs.V MACHINE FOR STR-INGING TOBACCO LEAVES.

4 I APPLICATION FILED FBB.3, 1910. 980,430. y Patented Jan. 8. 1911.

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A. W. OLDS. MACHINE FOR STRINGING TOBAGGO LEAVES.

Patented J an. 3, 1911.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

' APPLICATION FILED IEEB.3, 1910.

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7.4M xm A. W.. oms. MACHINE FOR STRINGING TOBACCO LEAVES. APPLICATIONFILED EELS, 1910.`

Patented J11.3,'1911.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

I uml" MMIII I ALFRED W. OLDS,

OF WINDSGR,

CONNECTICUT.

MACHINE FOR STRINGING TOBACCO-LEAVES.

estense.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 3, 1910.

Patented J an. 3, 1911.

Serial No. 541,857.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, ALFRED WV. ULDs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Windsor, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machines for Stringingrlobacco-Leaves, o1 which the following is a specitication.

This invention relates to a machine that is designed to fasten the stemsof tobacco leaves to a wire or cord, which may be attached to a lath orbar, in such manner that the leaves may be conveniently hung in a barnor shed in proper condition for curing.

The object oitl this invention is to provide a machine which willautomatically feed a wire or cord and secure tobacco stems to the wireor cord. by metallic fasteners or staples so that the leaves will hangsuitably spaced for curing.

The machine illustrated as embodying the invention is constructed toreceive and intermittently feed a lath that has the ends of a wirefastened to its ends. As the machine is actuated the wired lath isadvanced, and

. as many leaves as are desirable are stapled to the wire, the lath isdischarged and carried to the drying shed.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings shows a front elevation of theoperative mechanism at the right hand or receiving end of the machine.Fig. 2 is an edge view of a wired lath that is designed to be insertedat the receiving end and be fed through this machine. Fig. 3 shows afront elevation of the mechanism at the left hand or discharge end ofthe machine. Fig. Ll is a vertical section showing an edge view of themeans for locking and releasing the lath holder. Fig. 5 is a horizontalsection showing a plan of the same holder locking and releasing parts.Fig. 6 shows on larger scale, a vertical section oi the carriage andlath holder, and the staple former, carrier and driver, and themechanisms for actuat- 'mg these parts, on the plane indicated by thedotted line 6-6 on Fig. 1. Fig. 7 shows a plan of a portion of a wiredlath and the staple former, carrier and driver. Fig. 8 shows a verticalsection on the plane indicated by the dotted line 8 8 on Fig. 6. Fig. 9shows a vertical section on the plane indicated by the dotted line 9-9on Fig. 1. Fig. 10 shows a horizontal section on the plane indicated bythe dotted line 10-10 on Fig. 8. Fig. 11 shows an elevation of the lefthand or discharge end of the machine. Fig. 12 shows a rear view of thelath carriage escapeinent. Fig. 13 shows an end elevation of theescapement.

The lath 1, with its slack wire 2, is placed on a carriage that is fedwith an intermittent movement along the trame of the machine from theright hand end, shown in Fig. 1, to the left hand end, shown in Fig. 3.This carriage has an L-shaped holder 3 attached to brackets 4 which arehinged to lugs that project forwardly from the bottom of the carriageframe 5. (Figs. 3, 6). The carriage frame, on its back, at the top nearthe ends, has rolls 6 that run on the upper surface of a horizontaltrack-rail 7 that is attached to the supporting frame 8. The carriageframe also has rolls 9 at the ends near the back of the bottom, whichrun against a vertical track-rail 10, that is fastened to the supportingframe. (Figs. 1, 3, 6, 11). The lath holder is normally held up bysprings 11 which are shown as coiled on the hinge pins, and as havingtheir ends bearing against the brackets and the bottom of the carriage.(Figs. 1, 3, 6). This holder is held locked in its upright position by alatch 12 that is pivoted to the holder, and that engages a stud 13 whichprojects upwardly from the bar 14 of the carriage. (Figs. 3, t, 5). Thecarriage may be drawn along the track from right to left by a cord 15and 'a weight 16. (Fig. 3).

On the back of the carriage bar 14 at regular intervals are rolls 17.These rolls are designed to engage the disks 18 of the escapement. Thereare two of these disks in the form of escapement shown, and each diskhas two openings 19, arranged diametrically in its edge, which willpermit the escape through them of the rolls. The openings in the disksare arranged at 90 degrees with relation to each other. The escapementdisks are keyed to a shaft 20, to which a ratchet wheel 21 is fastened.Turning on the escapement shaft is an arm 22 one of the openings,engages a solid portion of the next disk. At the lnext lifting of thetreadle, the escapement is turned so that the roll which is against thesolid face of the second disk passes through an opening in that disk andallows the carriage to move until the next roll engages. a solid portionof the faceV of the first escapement disk. (Figs. 12, 13). This isrepeated until the carriage is drawn from the right hand end to the lefthand end ofthe machine. As there are two escapement disks, there areonly one-half as many escapement rolls on the back of the carriage asthere are stations at which the carriage will be stopped for theattachment of the leaf stems tothe wire.

When the carriage reaches its extreme limit at the left hand end of themachine, the latch which locks the holder to the carriage, engages theplate 28 that is secured Y to the track-rail 7 and is disengaged fromthe holding stud.

(Figs. 3, 4, This releasesthe holder, which undervthe weight of the lathand the tobacco which has been fastened thereto, turns down and placesthe ends of the lath in buckets 29 which are hung on the chains 30 thattravel over the sprocket wheels 31. (Figs. 3, 11).Y These conveyerchains then take thelath and the tobacco fastenedto the wire which isattached thereto, to any desired locality. When the lath is removed bythe convey-er, the holder is returned to its upright position by thesprings 11 and locked-to the carriage,.which is then moved to the righthand end of the machine, and another wired lath placed therein.

Before each depression of the treadle, the operator thrusts the stem ofa tobacco leaf up into the grooved stem guide and retainer 32. Thisguide has an arm 33 that is connected by a link 34 with the lever 25lwhich is oscillated in one direction by the spring 35. (Fig. 6).Depressing the treadle throws the upper end ofthe guide, with the stemof. the tobacco lea f, forward against the `wire attached to the lath,and which is passed around the guide roll 36. (Figs 6, 7). When the stemis in this position, a staple is driven over the wire and through `thestem. The ends of the staple are bent or clenched against the back ofthe stem, by

engagement with the front face of the stem guide 32.

The staple wire is designed to be fed down through the guide quill 37 bythe feed rolls 38. (Fig. G). One of these feed rolls is provided withpins 39 which are engaged, for intermittently rotating the feed roll, bya spring pawl 40 that is mounted on a stud 41 which is attached to aslide 42. (Figs. 8, 9, 10). This stud is connected by a link 43 with theend of the actuating lever 25, a slot 44 being provided in the end ofthis link so that the slide 42 can have a Inovement in one directionindependently of the actuating lever. (Fig. 6).

The lower end of the wire is driven by a punch 45 into the rotatorystaple carrier or turret 4G, which has four radial openings 47. Thispunch is supported by a post 4S that projects downwardly from a slide49. (Fig. 6). Just after the punch has forced the wire into one of theopenings in the carrier, this end of 'the wire is severed by a cutter-50 which is fastened to the slide 49. and is moved with it across thelower end of the wire quill. The continued backward movement of thepunch drives the severed section of the wire into the opening in thecarrier and forms a staple therein. The slide 49 has an upwardlyextending post 51 that is connected by a link 52 with the operatinglever 25. Extending downwardly from the slide 49 into a. central chamberin the staple carrier is a post with a driving` pin 54. As the slide 49is moved backward, and the punch forms a staple in one side of thecarrier, the driver forces a staple which has been previously formed,out from the other side of the carrier and drives that staple over thewire and through the stem of the leaf retained by the stem guide back ofthe lath wire. (Fig. G).

The rotatory staple carrier is in the forni of a turret, the axis ofwhich is supported by a bar 5G that extends across the frame. (Figs. 6,8, 9). Projecting upwardly from the top of the carrier are four pins 57.These pins are engaged by a spring pawl 53 that is attached to a stud 59which projects down from and moves with the slide 42. (Figs. 7, 9, 10).The slide 42 is drawn forward by the spring` 60 which is fastenedbetween the link 43 and one wall of the sup porting frame. (Figs. 6, S).In order to hold the staple carrier stationaryunti1 after the stapledriver and staple forining punch have been withdrawn from the openingsin the carrier, the slide 42 is held forward by means of the latch 61which engages with a roll G2 on the side of the slide 42, as shown inFig. 9. The latch is mounted on a rocker shaft G3 and is held up by aspring (34 that is coiled aboutvthe shaft and bears against the end ofthe latch. (Fig. 9). The rocker shaft has a-rocker arm 65 provided withan ist adjustable abutment screw 66 that is in t-he path of the post 48which projects downwardly from the slide 49. When the slide 49 is drawnforward. sufficiently far to withdraw the staple-driver and staple-punchfrom the openings in the carrier, the post 41-8 engages the abutmentscrew 66 and rocks the arm and shaft so as to disengage the latch fromthe roll and allow th-e spring GO to draw the slide 4t2 forward, andcause the pawl 58 to Igive the staple carri-er a quarter turn. (Figs. 6,9).

When the operator thrusts a leaf stem into the stem guide and retainerand depresses the treadle, the retainer is thrown forward and thestaple-driver and staplepunch are moved back, the former driving astaple from a hole in the carrier, over the lath wire and through thestem so as to attach the leaf to the wire, and the latter forming a newstaple in another hole of the staple carrier. Then the treadle isallowed to rise, the operating lever 25 is drawn down by the spring 35and withdraws the staple driver and the staple-p unch from theiropenings. Immediately following this, another length of staple wire isfed down in front of the punch, and the carrier is rotated to carry astaple previously formed into the path of the driver, and leave an emptyopening in front of the punch. At the same time that these actions takeplace, the stem guide is swung back, and the escapement turned to allowthe carriage and lath holder to advance one step.

After the desired number of tobacco leaves have been stapled to the lathwire in this manner, and the carriage with the lath and wire containingthe attached leaves, has reach-ed the end of its intermittent movement,the escapement allows the carriage to be drawn to the delivery end ofthe machine. Just before the carriage is released so that it may tra-velto the delivery end, the right hand carriage supporting roll 6 reachesan elevation 67 in th-e top of the track. (Fig. l). rlhis elevationcauses the end of the carriage to be lifted so that the pin 68 whichprojects from the holder will lift the wire 2 above the guide roll 36and stem guide 82 and prevent the wire from catching when the carriageis released. (Figs. l, 7

When the carriage reaches the delivery end of the machine, as previouslydescribed, the latch which retains the holder is released, allowing theholder to swing over and place the lath ends in the buckets of theconveyer chain.

The lath with the leaves stapled to the wire may be conveyed to a shedand placed on racks with the leaves hanging down in suitable conditionfor curing.

The invention claimed is:

l. A machine for stringing tobacco leaves,

wire, means for guiding stems adjacent to the wire, and means fordriving staples about the wire and through the stems.

2. A machine for stringing tobacco leaves, having means forintermittently feeding wire, means for guiding stems adjacent to thewire, means for forming staples, and means for driving staples about thewire and through the stems.

3. A machine for stringing tobacco leaves, having means forintermittently feeding wire, means for guiding stems adjacent to thewire, means for forming staples, means for carrying staples thus formedadjacent to the wire, and means for driving the staples about the wireand through the stems.

a. A machine for stringing tobacco leaves, having a carriage, means forfeeding the carriage intermittently, means for guiding stems in front ofthe carriage, and means for driving staples toward the stem guidingmeans.

5. A machine for stringing tobacco leaves, having a carriage, a holderattached to the carriage, means for guiding stems in front of theholder, and means for driving staples toward the stem guide.

6. A machine for stringing tobacco leaves, having a carriage, a holderattached to and movable with the carriage, and means for driving'staples toward the holder.

7. A machine for stringing tobacco leaves having a carriage, a holderhinged to and movable with the carriage, and means for driving staplestoward the holder.

8. A machine for stringing tobacco leaves, having a track, a carriagemovable along the track, an escapement for providing an intermittentmovement for the carriage, and means for driving staples toward thecarriage.

9. A machine for stringing tobacco leaves, having a track, a carriagemovable along the track, an escapement for providing an intermittentmovement for the carriage, means for feeding wire into the machine,means for forming staples from said wire, and means for driving saidstaples toward the carriage.

10. A machine for stringing tobacco leaves, having a track, a carriagemovable along the track, an escapement for providing an intermittentmovement for the carriage, means for feeding wire into the machine,means for severing the wire and forming staples, means for carrying thestaples adjacent to the carriage, and means for driving the staples fromsaid carrier toward the carriage.

11. A machine for stringing tobacco leaves, having means for feedingwire, means for forming staples, and means for driving said staplesabout the wire.

l2. A machine for stringing tobacco leaves, having an intermittentlymovable carriage, a holder hinged to the carriage, means for feedingwire into the machine, means for rer toward the holder.

13. A machine for Stringing tobacco leaves,

Ahaving an intermittently movable carriage, a

holder attached to the carriage, a stem guide, means for feeding Wire,means for severing the Wire, a carrier, means for forcing the severedends ofthe Wire into the carrier, and forming staples, means for drivingthe staples from the carrier, and mechanism for actuating said meanssynchronously.v

14. A machine for Stringing tobacco leaves having a carriage, a holderhinged to the carriage, an esoapement for providing an intermittentmovement for the carriage and holder, means for forming staples, meansfor driving staples from the former, and means for releasing the holderfrom the carriage When the carriage reaches the end of its travel.

l5. A machine forstringing tobacco leaves, having a carriage, a holderhinged to the carriage, an escapement for providing an intermittentmovement for the carriage and holder, an oscillatory stem guide, arotatory staple carrier, a Wire feed, a punch for forming staples, and adriver for forcing staples from the carrier against the stem guide.

ALFRED W. OLDS.

Vitnesses JosErI-IINE M. STREMYFER, HARRY R. WILLIAMS.

